Cloud based infrastructure

Cloud based infrastructure, Cloud computing is an evolving computing paradigm that has influenced every other entity in the globalized industry, whether it is in the public sector or the private sector. Considering the growing importance of cloud, finding new ways to improve cloud services is an area of concern and research focus. The limitation of the available Virtual Machine Load balancing policies for cloud is that they do not save the state of the previous allocation of a virtual machine to a request from a User base and the algorithm requires execution each time a new request for Virtual Machine allocation is received from the User base. This problem can be resolved by developing an efficient virtual machine load balancing algorithm for the cloud and by doing a comparative analysis of the proposed algorithm with the existing algorithms.

The drivers for Cloud computing are many: the performance is higher, the infrastructure is scalable, the services are cheaper and the user can pay with the growth—all different from if the company should establish its own computing infrastructure. So the cloud has its potential. Amazon.com provides a cloud based infrastructure; Microsoft goes to the cloud; Sun Microsystems provides container based data storage and processing power—just to be installed in the cloud. In total, private and public data are available in the cloud as it is cheaper, it is faster, it can grow with the demand and it is always accessible. However, care have to be taken in order to ensure that the cloud based services are offered in a degree that matches needs and expected price models. The question is only how to deploy cloud computing to the masses, the SMEs.

There are different deployment models as described in, varying from purely private clouds, owned fully by the company, to public ones which are accessible to all interested parties via the internet. This reflects that there are trajectories in the deployment of the cloud that spans over: – National cloud deployed where the user must determine how to use public cloud to meet their goals—a realistic case for the SMEs. – Many organizational private clouds are deployed. Organizations must then determine how to federate or hybridize.

In between these two extreme trajectories, there are also community cloud (a cloud that is controlled and used by a group of organizations that have shared interests, such as specific security requirements or a common mission) and hybrid cloud (a combination of a public and a private cloud that interoperates—e.g. for outsourced non-business critical information and processes, while business critical services and data remains under control). It is expected that mainly larger companies will apply hybrid clouds.

The cloud provides an infrastructure, access technologies, services, etc. feasible to all end-users. Therefore, everything must be simple from an end-user perspective independent on the real complexity of what is underneath. However, when it comes to transparency for the location of own data, it becomes a major problem, as the end-user typically is unaware of where the data is stored. This means that the SMEs expect the data to be stored at a certain service provider, but the service provider might have outsourced the data to be stored elsewhere.

As already said, the cloud has a number of advantages both for the service provider and the SME. The SMEs just have to be convinced and understand what is appropriate behavior and philosophy. It is necessary to focus on how services on the internet, like Facebook, Twitter and others, always keep part of our social history. Therefore, it is worth questioning whether we are willing to open up for the same level of information when it comes to our professional life.

Once again, if the data are available on the internet, they can be traced. The on-going trend changing the infrastructure to a cloud based infrastructure, a trend that started recently as a result on the presence of a suitable platform for storage, sufficient computing power and an appropriate infrastructure in selected areas. This means that the roll-out of the cloud will continue with more and more services and companies providing cloud infrastructure and components hereto, like Microsoft, Cisco, HP and Amazon.

Last, but not least, it is necessary to take into account whether it is legal to use certain services and from where. Services like Pirate Bay are legal in some countries, but not in others—but are they illegal in the country from which they are accessed, or in which they are stored. This is an issue that must be raised due to ever on-going outsourcing of services.

This paper presents on-going research to develop the Intercloud Architecture Framework (ICAF) that addresses problems in multi-provider multi-domain heterogeneous cloud based infrastructure services and applications integration and interoperability, to allow their on-demand provisioning. The paper refers to existing standards in Cloud Computing, in particular, recently published NIST Cloud Computing Reference Architecture (CCRA).

The paper briefly describes the architectural framework for cloud based infrastructure services provisioned on-demand that is used as a basis for building multilayer cloud services integration framework that allows optimized provisioning of both computing, storage and networking resources. The paper also provides suggestions for consistent inter-cloud security infrastructure. The proposed architecture is intended to provide an architectural model for developing Intercloud middleware and in this way will facilitate clouds interoperability and integration.

Cloud based applications operate as regular applications, in particular, using standard Internet protocols and platforms for services and applications interaction and management. However their composition and integration into distributed heterogeneous multi-provider cloud based infrastructure will require a number of functionalities and services that are jointly defined in this paper as Intercloud Architecture Framework.

This paper presents on-going research at the University of Amsterdam to develop the Intercloud Architecture that addresses problems with multi-domain heterogeneous cloud based applications integration and inter-provider and interplatform interoperability. The proposed high level architecture is based on the development and implementation of its different components in a few cooperating projects such as GEYSERS, GEANT, MANTICHORE and NOVI, which experience demonstrated needs for more general approach to complex multi-provider cloud based infrastructure services.

The proposed Intercloud Architecture Framework includes the four inter-related components that address different issues in heterogeneous multi-provider, multi-cloud, multi-platforms integration: multi-layer Cloud Services Model that combines commonly adopted cloud service models, such as IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, in one multilayer model with corresponding inter-layer interfaces;

Intercloud Control and Management Plane that supports cloud based applications and infrastructure services interaction;

and Intercloud Operation Framework that defines functional components and procedures to support cloud based services provisioning and operation.

The proposed approach and definitions are intended to provide a consolidation basis for numerous standardisation activities in the area of inter-cloud architectures by splitting concerns and using already existing and widely accepted solution where possible.

The analysis of the security issues in provisioning complex heterogeneous multi-provider intercloud infrastructures presented in the paper will also provide a good basis for the further intercloud security infrastructure definition and development.